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All Rise...

Judge John Floyd knows that Chuck Norris has never told a lie. Once Chuck Norris says something, it's the truth.

The Charge

"Knockouts, not tap-outs!"

Opening Statement

Is it possible that Chuck Norris is actually as cool as people jokingly make
him out to be? If he works out a few tiny bugs in his unique new competitive
martial arts league, he may have a case.

Facts of the Case

In each episode of World Combat League: Season One, two teams of six
professional martial arts fighters face off in 12 one-on-one matches, each
fighter having just three minutes to score a knockout or do as much damage to
his or her opponent (within the confines of the rules) as possible. The team
that has earned the most points from the three judges at the end of all 12
rounds wins. To keep things exciting, there is no grappling or ground fighting
allowed, and fighters can be penalized (which means points for the opposing
team) for stalling or being too timid.

The Evidence

I have to confess that the first time I read the title World Combat
League: Season One, I snickered out loud. Envisioning something akin to a
low-rent marriage of the XFL and American Gladiators, I giddily
volunteered to review the first season on DVD. What I failed to remember was
that before he starred in a lot of bad movies with really cool titles (A
Force of One, Good Guys Wear Black, Silent Rage, An Eye For
An Eye, and The Octagon, to name a few),
started hawking exercise equipment with Christie Brinkley, and became a pop
culture punch line, Norris was a six-time world karate champion and a serious,
passionate advocate of the fighting arts. With apologies to Chuck, I'm pleased
to say that I was completely wrong in my assumptions about his latest endeavor.
The World Combat League is a great combination of the team sport concept and
good, old-fashioned full-contact kickboxing.

For starters, the fighters signed to the WCL are accomplished athletes.
Names like Raymond Daniels, Jeri Sitzes, Thomas Longacre, Kelly Leo, and Kevin
Engel may not be immediately recognizable to the average viewer, but fans of
organized fighting sports will know them and many of their league peers. Once
these folks step into the ring, it's clear that this isn't a barroom
"Toughman" contest, but rather a well-structured and strictly
officiated sporting event. The quality of the personnel involved combined with
the fast-paced format makes each WCL fight enjoyable to watch.

The rules are designed to avoid slow matches fought in a heap on the canvas
or won by fighters who spend most of their time in a defensive posture. The WCL
ring is just that—a padded ring with no ropes or cage to back into for
support. The outside edge of this arena is out of bounds, and any fighter
deliberately moving into it to evade an opponent's attack is penalized. A
fighter in this red area also cannot score any points, no matter how effectively
his or her counterattacks land, while the attacker still in the ring proper
continues to be awarded points for solid kicks, punches, and knees until the
referee steps in to move the action back inside. Any fight fan will tell you
that there is nothing more disappointing than watching a much-hyped bout that
ends up being a lot of clinching, bobbing, and weaving, without much actual
striking. The WCL simply won't allow that kind of contest. If a fighter grabs
and holds his or her opponent, the opponent and their team are awarded a point.
If a fighter dances around too much without mounting any offense or backs
straight away from an aggressive opponent without attempting to counter, they
get a penalty and their opponent gets rewarded on the scorecard. This "No
Passivity" rule is a brilliant innovation, one that truly sets this league
apart from all other televised combat sports. The WCL promises fights, and
fights are what you get in every episode.

When he developed the concept, Norris obviously understood the value of
teams in promoting a sport to the masses. By giving each squad uniform colors
and geographic affiliation, the WCL appeals to fans in a way that UFC and other
fighting promotions simply cannot. Because the final tally of all six fighters'
bouts makes up the overall team's final score, the league also overcomes a
problem that has long plagued fight promoters—boring "undercard"
matches. In this organization, every skirmish counts, and the least talented or
accomplished combatant on a team can still be the one who leads the squad to
victory.

Of course, any new sports venture is going to suffer some growing pains, and
the WCL is no exception. The initial season is plagued by franchise and
personnel shifts, with the Las Vegas Gators becoming the Oklahoma Destroyers
after just one event, and another group of "Destroyers" from Denver
being disbanded completely and their roster disbursed to other clubs. Former
kickboxing champion Derek Panza goes from being a fighter for the New York Clash
to its coach, while multi-form champ and former UFC star Guy Mezger transitions
from coach to color commentator in mid-season. None of these moves would be
quite as jarring if the television broadcast team would just acknowledge them,
but so much emphasis is given to explaining the rules and commenting on the
individual fights that no air time is dedicated to such league-wide matters. In
fact, at no time during Season One are the league and conference standings even
mentioned by the announcers or displayed on-screen, a rookie mistake that
undermines some of the value of the promotion's innovative structure. It's
difficult to get fans excited over a newly crowned champion if they have never
really been given the sense that the victory was the result of a grueling
season's worth of hard work. Even the 20-minute "Introduction to the World
Combat League" lead-in doesn't provide any background material on the
franchises or an overview of the league's inaugural campaign. A bit of
background on the individual fighters and their coaches would also have lent
more weight to the proceedings for those viewers not well-versed in the world of
competitive martial arts.

Action movie enthusiasts will be pleased to see Don "The Dragon"
Wilson doing ringside interviews in one episode, while those sharing my initial
misgivings about the program will be grateful that Norris himself appears only
in the show's opening titles and as a spectator in the crowd during some of the
events. The only "bonus" feature on the DVD is the option to watch the
fights individually, including those that were edited into highlight reels for
time reasons in the television episodes.

Closing Statement

World Combat League is a clever combination of the regional appeal of
major team sports like baseball, football, and basketball, and the exploding
popularity of combat-related sporting events. Its first season is exciting and
rich with crowd-pleasing knockouts. With a few minor tweaks, this league could
easily grow into a very lucrative, global sports empire.

The Verdict

Though the DVD presentation is a bit threadbare, this is a must-own for any
fan of boxing and/or full-contact martial arts. 20 years from now, when 3.5
billion people gather in front of their holographic monitors on WCL Championship
Saturday, won't it be nice to be able to say you were there with Chuck when it
all began? Not guilty.